Switch-operating device.



PATENTED. SEPT. 2z, 1903.

E. L. FENCE.

SWITCH OPERATING DEVICE.

2 sums-SHEET 1,

AP'PLIGATION FILED FEB. 4. 1903.

No MODEL.

,.mllllll No. 739,709. PATENTED SEPT. 22, 190s. E. L. TENUE.

SWITCH OPERATING DEVICE.

APPLIoATioN Hmm rms. 4. moa.

2 sums-SHEET z.

l0 IODEL.

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UNITED STATES Patented September 22, 1903. v

:PATENT OEEICE.

SWITCH-OPERATING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 739,709, dated September 22, 1903.

Application tiled February 4, 1908. Serial No. 141.892. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, EDWARD L. FENCE., a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Memphis, in the county of Shelby and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and useful Switch-Operating Device, of which the following is a specilication.

My invention relates to railway-switches, and has for its objects to produce a device of this nature which will be automatically perated by the passage of an engine, one in which the switchoperating mechanism carried by the engine will be automatically thrown into and out of operative position by the speed of the engine being changed from low to high, and vice versa, and one which will be simple of construction, inexpensive to apply, and efficient in operation.

To these ends the invention comprises the details of construction and combination of parts more fully hereinafter described.

' frame of the pilot.

VIn the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a top plan view of the framework of an engine-*pilot having my improvement applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same.

Referring to Athe drawings, l indicates the base-frame of an engine-piloawhich-in accoi-dance with my invention has bolted or otherwise secured to each ofits rear corners asupplemental framework 2. This frame preferably comprises a suitable sheet-metal blank bent into substantially U form in cross-section to form two horizontally-projecting spaced blades 3. This supplemental frame, which proj ects-laterally from the pilot, extends a suitable distance beyond the track and serves as a hearing for the lower end of a vertical shaft 4, which latter has its upper end mounted in a suitable bearing in the dead-Wood timber 5, lying above the :basewhich bears upon the upper face of the suppleinen tal frame for supporting the shaft, the

collar being secured by a set-screw or-other- `wise. Y

7 indicates a sheet-iron Wing or blade secured to the shaft in any suitable manner at a point between its ends and adapted to lie normally in a direction parallel with the line of travel of the engine, being maintained in The shaft has a collar 6,

this position by means of a suitable spring 8, mounted on the upper end of the shaft. Secured to the lower end of the shaft is a stop member 9, which is held in place by means of a set-screw or the like and projects horizontally from the Yshaft in a plane parallel with the plane of the wing or blade 7. This stop member is T-shaped in cross-section, and in practice when the shaft is rotated in the manner and for the purpose as hereinafter described the arms formed by the head of the T will Contact with the supplemental frame to limit the movement of the shaft and will extend vertically across the same for the purpose ofclosing the frame,r as hereinafter described.

lu practice the spring S exerts its tension on the shaft to maintain the blade 7 parallel with the direction of travel of the engine, and the tension of the spring will be suiciently great to maintain the parts in this position `while the engine is at rest or is traveling at a lmoderate rate of speed only; but when the speed ofthe engine is increased to any consid- -erable extent, or, that is, to a rate which might be' termed high speed, thev atmospheric resistance oered to the blade will cause the same to swing at right angles to the line of travel of the engine, and will thus swing the stop-arm 9 to the position shown in Fig. 2, in which position the arm serves to limit the rearward swinging movement of the wing and also to close the space between the upperand lower plates 3 of thesupplemental frame. With the partsin this position the stop 9willcontact with a horizontal arm lO and actuate the same for the purpose of operating the switchshifting mechanism now to be described. The arm 1Q is mounted on a vertical shaft ll and is secured thereto in any suitable inanner, whereby the arm will when moved rotate the shaft. This shaft has a bearing at its lowerend in a suitable plate l2, bolted to the cross-ties and extending in a direction parallel with the rails, and at its upper end in a brace-plate 13, which is' also bolted to the ties. Fixedly mounted onvthe shaft 11 beneath the arm 10 are two cam-fingers 14 l5,

situated one above another and having oppositely-disposed cam-faces which in practice bear againstsuitable leaf-springs 1G 17, sup- IOO ported by a framework 18, comprising, preferably, a suitable sheet-metal blank bent into L form, having one of its webs bolted to the ties and its vertical web sustaining lugs 19, which in turn sustain the ends of the leafsprings, the springs being secured tothe lugs by means of clips 20.

2l is a shifting-arm mounted on the shaft 11 beneath the cam-fingers in position to engage with the switch-shifting slide 22, the arm 21 being fixed to the shaft in any suitable manner for operation thereby.

23 indicates a second plate bolted to the ties and provided with lugs 24, which lie in the path of and are adapted to limit themovements of the arm 10, as will be readily understood.

In practice the leaf-springs bearing against the cam-fingers 14 15 will maintain the finger normally in the position shown in Fig. 2. With the parts in this position if the passing engine is traveling at a suiciently high rate of speed to cause the stop 9 to close the frame 2 in the manner above set forth the stop will contact with the arm 10 and swing the same on its pivot in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1. When the arm 10 is so moved, the cam-finger 14 will compress the upper leafspring 16 to permit the swinging of the arm,

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and the shifting-arm will engage with and operate the switch-shifting slide 22 to cause the same to shift the movable rail-sections, which are bolted thereto and operated thereby, as usual. When, however, the engine is moving at a slow rate of speed, such as that main tained .during the operation of shifting in the yard,

the bladewill be maintained in its normal position by the spring S, and the stop-arm 9 will also be out of position for engagement with the switch-shifting arm 10.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I produce a device which is at once simple of construction and efficient in operation, one which lnay be readily applied to 1ocomotives, and one which will be entirely automatic in its operation, and in attaining these ends I do not limit or conne myself to the details herein shown and described, inasmuch as various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention.

It is to be understood that in practice the pilot will be provided vat each of its rear ends with switch-operating mechanism, such as that above described, whereby the switches at each side of the main line of the road will be automatically operated by the passage of the engine, and while I have shown and described herein this switch-operating mechanism as applied to one side of the pilot it is to be understood that the opposite sid'e of the pilot will have mechanism identical in construction and operation with that herein described.

-ing position.

2. The combination with a switch, of an operating-arm therefor, a member carried by the train and adapted to engage said arm to operate the switch, means for maintaining said member normally out of engaging position, and means controlled by the rate of speed of the train for automatically moving said member into engaging position.

3. The combination with a switch, of an operating-arm therefor, a member carried by the train and adapted to engage said arm to operate the switch, a spring for maintaining said member normally out of engaging position, and means controlled by the rate of `rotating the shaft to move the member into engaging position.

5. The combination with a switch, of an operating-arm therefor, a member carried by the train, an operating shaft for said member `adapted to be rotated to move the member into position to engage the arm, means for maintaining said member normally out of en` .gaging position, and a wing or blade adapted,

under atmospheric pressure, to rotate the shaft to move the member into engaging position.

6. The combination with a switch, of an operating-arm therefor, a member carried by the train, an operating-shaft for said member adapted to be rotated to move the member into position to engage the arm, a spring acting on the shaft to maintain said member normally out of engaging position, and a wing or blade carried by the shaft and adapted, under atmospheric pressure, to rotate the same to move the member into engaging position.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD L. PENCE.

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